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Episodes

July 8, 2025

#493 Reimagining Events with Tech: Cosmin Ivan on Scaling Platinumlis…

In this episode of The CTO Show , Mehmet Gonullu sits down with Cosmin Ivan , CEO of Platinumlist , the leading event and ticketing platform in the MENA region. From selling tickets by hand to building a platform used for the...

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July 5, 2025

#492 Building Human-First Products in the Age of AI: Eric Müller on S…

In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet , we sit down with Eric Müller , Product Engineering Associate Director at Work & Co, to unpack the evolving intersection of AI adoption , digital security , and empathetic leadersh...

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July 3, 2025

#491 Scaling Engineering Teams for the AI Era: Insights from Mary Moo…

In this episode, Mehmet Gonullu sits down with Mary Moore-Simmons , VP of Engineering at Keebo AI, to unpack what it really takes to scale high-performing engineering teams in today’s AI-powered environment. From DevOps and M...

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July 1, 2025

#490 From Data to CTO: Keith Cassar’s Evolution in Tech Leadership

In this episode of The CTO Show , Mehmet welcomes Keith Cassar , CTO at Game Lounge, who shares his journey from SQL developer to tech leader, and what it takes to evolve from a data specialist into a cross-functional CTO. To...

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June 28, 2025

#489 Why Silicon Valley Still Wins: Dr. Andrey Kunov on What Emerging…

In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet , Dr. Andrey Kunov — serial entrepreneur, founder of Silicon Valley Innovation Center, and AI advisor — joins us from the heart of Silicon Valley to dissect what truly makes the Val...

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June 26, 2025

#488 The Inside-Out Entrepreneur: Mohamed Ahmed on Startup Mindset an…

In this episode, host Mehmet Gonullu sits down with Mohamed Ahmed , an engineer-turned-founder and author of The Inside-Out Entrepreneur . Together, they unpack the mental, emotional, and strategic conditioning required for e...

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June 24, 2025

#487 From Dream to Done: Cheryl Cunningham on Creating the Agentic OS…

In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet , we sit down with Cheryl Cunningham , CEO of Huro AI , to explore how agentic AI is reshaping entrepreneurship as we know it. From her early days in the food industry to building a...

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June 20, 2025

#486 The Brave Leap: Michael Cutajar on Automating Accounting with AI…

In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet , we sit down with Michael Cutajar , CEO of AI Partners, who’s on a mission to fix the broken world of accounting through the power of AI agents. From his early days as a PwC accoun...

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June 19, 2025

#485 Scaling Starts with People: Nahed Khairallah on Building Teams T…

Mehmet sits down with Nahed Khairallah , founder of Organized Chaos , to discuss why startups that reach initial traction often stall or fail due to people-related blind spots. With experience advising over 150 startups globa...

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June 16, 2025

#484 The CTO as Orchestrator: Naga Vadrevu on Leading Tech with First…

In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet , Naga Vadrevu, Chief Technology Officer at Wonderschool and former engineering leader at Square, Adobe, and Autodesk, shares his journey from big tech to startup disruption. Naga d...

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June 13, 2025

#483 Bootstrapping in Motion: Nelson Nigel’s Blueprint from Yellow Ca…

In this episode, Mehmet Gonullu sits down with Nelson Nigel , the founder of Kidmoto , a ride-hailing service designed specifically for families traveling with young children. From driving a yellow cab in New York to building...

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June 12, 2025

#482 The Browser Is the New Battleground: John Carse on Securing the …

In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet , we’re joined by John Carse , Field CISO at SquareX , to explore a fast-emerging shift in cybersecurity: the browser as the new endpoint. John shares why traditional tools like EDR...

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June 10, 2025

#481 Go-to-Market Clarity in a Noisy World: Jan van Schuppen’s GTM Wi…

In this episode, Mehmet sits down with Jan van Schuppen , a seasoned sales entrepreneur and founder of Ideas in Spades , who has led global B2B sales teams for over 30 years. They explore the biggest myths in go-to-market (GT...

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June 7, 2025

#480 The Dangerous Gap: Why Startups Fail After MVP – Insights from A…

In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet , we’re joined by Ali Hafizji, founder of the product development agency Wednesday , for a candid look into one of the most overlooked phases in startup growth: the dangerous gap be...

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June 5, 2025

#479 Rewriting the Music Playbook: Jeremy Sirota on Innovation, AI, a…

In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet , we dive into the transformation of the global music industry with Jeremy Sirota , CEO of Merlin , the world’s leading digital licensing partner for independent music labels. Jerem...

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June 3, 2025

#478 100x Outcomes, Not 10x Hype: AI Execution Strategies with Matt L…

In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet , we dive deep into what it really takes to implement AI that works —not just experiments, but systems that scale. Joining us is Matt Leta , founder & CEO of Future Works, an AI-nat...

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May 31, 2025

#477 The Singularity of Hope: Sam Sammane on Amplifying Humanity with…

In this thought-provoking episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet , we welcome Sam Sammane , physicist, serial entrepreneur, and author of The Singularity of Hope . With a background in nanotechnology, life sciences, and AI, Sam ...

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May 29, 2025

#476 Stop Pitching Tech, Start Selling Outcomes: Josh Dorfman’s Advic…

In this episode, Mehmet is joined by Josh Dorfman , CEO of Supercool and host of the Supercool podcast. Josh is a serial sustainability entrepreneur, former investor, and media trailblazer with two decades of experience scali...

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May 27, 2025

#475 Focus, Grit, and Product-Market Fit: Lessons from Anya Cheng’s S…

In this episode, Mehmet sits down with Anya Cheng , the founder and CEO of Taelor , a fashion-tech startup revolutionizing how busy men dress—without shopping or doing laundry. With past leadership roles at Meta, eBay, and Mc...

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May 24, 2025

#474 Execution Over Ideas: Andy Cwik on Building and Scaling

Episode Overview In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet , Andy Cwik—co-founder and CEO of Hubub—shares his lessons from three startups, including the painful failures and meaningful wins. From crashing his first startup ...

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May 22, 2025

#473 AI Won’t Replace Jobs, It Will Replace Companies — Anthony Franc…

In this episode of The CTO Show , serial entrepreneur and podcast host Anthony Franco joins Mehmet to unpack how AI is fundamentally reshaping how businesses operate—beyond the hype. With six exits under his belt and decades ...

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May 20, 2025

#472 Reinventing Cooling: Faizan Ahmed’s Solid-State Revolution

In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet , we dive into the world of deep tech and hardware innovation with Faizan Ahmed , founder and CEO of Invensify . From solving his father’s insulin storage problem to building a pate...

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May 17, 2025

#471 The Future Needs Soul: Mona Bavar on Human-Centered AI and Brand…

In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet , we dive into the intersection of technology, creativity, and brand authenticity with Mona Bavar — founder of DLISH and BlueApples.ai . From a childhood shaped by cultural resilien...

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May 15, 2025

#470 Solving Your Own Problem at Scale: Rahul Swaminathan’s Journey w…

What happens when a developer in Dubai decides to solve his own problem—and ends up building a 300M SKU e-commerce engine? In this episode, I speak with Rahul Swaminathan , the founder of Desertcart , one of the region’s most...

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